2010’s Biggest Lesson For P.R., Social Media, Media Pros; Oh And Everyone Else Too

I was in the middle of a delightful (yes, delightful. We should use this word more frequently, life is delightful, no?)  twitter exchange with @SarahKayHoffman, a community manager @SearsFitness and fellow Minnesotan. We were tweeting over some of the challenges posed by social media. She posed the question: What’s “social” if you’re not useful? It’s a challenge I have faced daily “herding cats”, as it were, to rally around a strategic and thoughtful approach to social media. A challenge I’ve been confronted with for the past couple of years. It was nice to know I wasn’t alone and it was also nice to know I’ve made progress. It got me thinking about my latest challenge.

Lately I, like many of my counterparts tasked with making sense of the social landscape, have been challenged with the demands of developing social media metrics. Blog (check out #27) after blog says 2011 will see honing in of social media metrics. My “goal setting” challenge has been drawn out over the past several weeks. Finally, there is light at the end of the  tunnel after a strenuous and albeit frustrating journey. It got me thinking, yes there is a point that I’m about to circle back to , of my favorite quote from Walt Disney:

Keep Moving Forward

Looking back at 2010 the strides I, and my community of social media lovers tasked with brand building in the social ecosystem, have made has been monumental. For dealing with a medium that changes faster then most of us can blink, we’ve done well. It has proven that stick-to-it-ivness pays off regardless of industry. When confronted with a challenge we have the option of throwing our hands up and walking away *guilty*. 2010 taught me to trudge through. Bring it 2011.